Viral TikTok bike chair is better left in the app, not your office

If there is a target market for people who would buy an office chair with bike pedals (and I’m sure there is), I would be it. As a writer, I have to sit at a computer for way more hours a day than my active and restless disposition would prefer. I already have a recumbent bike at home that I try to sometimes read on, but when I heard about the Flexispot Sit2Go, a bike chair you use at your desk, I was excited. Maybe this would be the solution to my squirmish dreams! Unfortunately, despite the supposed TikTok buzz, no such luck.

Its price tag doesn’t match its quality

While the Sit2Go looks nice enough, functionally, it wasn’t worth the high $399 price tag. The pedal resistance is adjustable from “hardly working” to “maybe if I sweat hard enough I’ll stop procrastinating,” the bike could benefit from straps on the pedals, or more surface area to better secure your feet. The overall effect is flimsy.

The office chair back is somewhat decent, though again, not as comfortable as it should be for the price point. If it were just a chair, there’s no way I’d buy it — I’ve tried far more comfortable plastic backs, and this one is relatively stiff. Ideally, it would be a sweatproof mesh.

My biggest issue, however, is with the seat. If you’re going to incentivize me to use a bike at my desk — and this is speaking as someone already fully onboard with the concept — I’m going to need a comfortable seat, especially for the moments I don’t feel like pedaling. A brief glimpse on Amazon shows that many purchase a bike seat cushion with this chair, which seems like the only way to go. But, again, additional upgrades are hard to accept at this price point. Unfortunately, the seat is hard and uncomfortable, like that on a road bike, only wider and less well-made. It is not particularly comfortable to sit on while pedaling or working, and it’s hard to imagine you’d want to stay at your desk long while using it.

Assembly was simple, but there’s not much room for customization

Adjusting the height of the chair up and down is easy with a lever, but adjusting the backrest requires unscrewing it, a design flaw that makes sharing the chair a no-go for most households of people with different body types.

Assembly itself was relatively easy (for my boyfriend, anyway), but that odd quirk is a major oversight. The bike seemed to fit him a little better as a taller person, but for someone short like me, this bike is not a great user experience. Though it can roll around perfectly easily, since we got it and tried it, the bike has unfortunately mostly sat in the corner, unused. And again, we are two active people who don’t need to be convinced not to be sedentary, so this seems like a bad sign for most potential users.

Sit2Go also claims that 30 minutes on the bike is equal to burning the calories in two cupcakes, which I think is an exaggeration. Even at a high resistance, to burn that many calories in 30 minutes would mean your two cupcakes likely totaled, at most, like, a hundred calories. Another example, unfortunately, of how this product over-promises and underdelivers. The people in the ads look far too comfortable, like they just enjoy hanging out on this seat as a lounge chair. In the words of Cher Horowitz, As if.

There is a standard calorie tracker on the bike, the same you would find on other non-electric bikes. Similarly, the tension on the bike can be adjusted manually for your desired resistance. It was quiet to pedal on the bike, quieter than a gym spin bike. And though my feet didn’t slip off the pedals, they also didn’t feel secure.

I have tried cheaper under-desk-bike-pedals, and while they also usually leave something to be desired, if you’re looking to harness your inner hamster, I would definitely suggest trying a pair of those over the Sit2Go. If you’d like to give it a try anyway, there is a 1-year warranty that covers defects, and a 30-day return policy if you don’t like it (though you’ll have to pay either a shipping or restocking fee).

Surely, there must be a better bike office chair out there, but for now, I’m hitting pause on my search to find it. I’ll stick to my awesome Varidesk standing desk, and find other ways to release my restless energy during the workday.